Harriet Tubman was an escaped slave who became a leading abolitionist. She led hundreds of slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad.

Notes to Women salute this brave woman who suffered hardship and physical violence. When she crossed into the free state of Pennsylvania, she was overwhelmed with relief and awe. Of this experience, she said, “When I found I had crossed that line, I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything; the sun came like gold through the trees, and over the fields, and I felt like I was in Heaven.”

This taste of freedom was something that she wanted others to experience. So, instead of staying there in the North where it was safe, she made it her mission to rescue her family and others who were still living in slavery. She earned the nickname “Moses” for leading others to freedom.

Harriet made history as the first woman to lead an armed expedition in the war, guiding the Combahee River Raid which liberated more than 700 slaves in South Carolina. She was named one of the most famous civilians in American History before the Civil War, third only to Betsy Ross and Paul Revere. Today, she continues to be an inspiration to generations of Americans who are still struggling for civil rights.

I freed a thousand slaves I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.

I would fight for my liberty so long as my strength lasted, and if the time came for me to go, the Lord would let them take me.

I had crossed the line. I was free; but there was no one to welcome me to the land of freedom. I was a stranger in a strange land.

I had reasoned this out in my mind, there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other.

I grew up like a neglected weed – ignorant of liberty, having no experience of it.

I said to de Lord, ‘I’m goin’ to hold steady on to you, an’ I know you’ll see me through.’

Twasn’t me, ’twas the Lord! I always told Him, ‘I trust to you. I don’t know where to go or what to do, but I expect You to lead me,’ an’ He always did.

Usually before I retire for the night, I check on my son. I make sure he’s nicely tugged in. He has a home. He has his own room. He doesn’t have to take the bus to school. His Dad drives him there. He doesn’t have to worry about anything. He is well cared for. In fact, he has a lot to be thankful for. He is living a life of luxury compared to other children. There are children out there who would gladly trade places with him. These children are “street children”. Who are they?

Street children are minors who live and survive on the streets. They often grow up in public landfills, train stations, our under the bridges of the world’s major cities – Humanium

Why do they live on the streets? There are several reasons such as family, poverty, abuse and war. Economic, social and political factors can also play a role.

Children end up on the streets for a number of reasons, many of which are rooted in family instability and poverty. In the region where we work, children most often leave home because they are fleeing instability or have been rejected and abandoned by their families for various reasons (disabilities, disease or disobedience). Many of the children we have worked with have left their homes to flee domestic violence, abusive relatives or neglectful families. Others have done so because their families live in severe economic distress, either in rural villages or city slums, and are unable to care for them – The Street Child Project

Life on the street is fraught with danger for these children. They are vulnerable to abuse, trafficking and sexual exploitation. Some of them end up in gangs. This is heartbreaking because all these children want is a better life–something they didn’t have at home.

…the most vulnerable are those who actually sleep and live on the streets, hiding under bridges, in gutters, in railway stations. While they may have small jobs such as shoe-shining or market-selling to pull through, may also end up dying on the pavement, victims of drugs, gang rivalry and disease. Without some form of basic education and economic training, the future is bleak for these street children and their life expectancy terrifyingly low – Unesco

Poor nutrition is another problem street children face. They can’t get food because they don’t have money. And those who can buy something to eat, they choose unhealthy foods such as ice cream, cakes. Since they don’t have access to sanitary facilities they are often dirty and infested with fleas. Lack of hygiene makes them susceptible to diseases.

I wish I had my mother or father with me, Nandi thought, weeping in the corner of the room. They would have never allowed anybody to beat me like that.

Nandi is a little boy who never knew his real parents. He was adopted but his adoptive parents treated him like a servant and beat him. They got angry when he called them “mother and father”. I can’t begin to imagine what life must have been like for this child. He longed for his real parents, believing that they would never allow anyone to mistreat him. He longed for their love and protection. As parents, we are responsible not only for raising our children, teaching them and disciplining them but we are supposed to love and protect them. They should feel safe at home. Nandi didn’t experience love, protection or security. All he knew was unkindness, abuse and forced labor. Unable to take the abuse any longer, he decided to run away and boarded a train to a big city.

We know that a big city is no place for a child. Not surprisingly, Nandi soon ended up begging at the roadside all day long. Like Oliver Twist, Nandi met his Fagan. This man took the money Nandi got for begging and in exchange, gave him little food. When Nandi didn’t want to do this any more, the man became incensed and beat him. The next day when Nandi again refused to beg, the man beat another boy in front of him. His will broken and gripped by fear, Nandi obeyed. God would have to intervene and He did in an unexpected way.

Nandi was crossing the street one night when a car ran over his foot. A police officer rushed over to where the injured boy was and took him to a hospital. Nandi stayed in the hospital for more than six months, recuperating. He had a visitor–a woman who asked him if he wanted to go to a children’s home. Initially, Nandi refused because he was afraid . New people and places intimidated him. However, when he saw how kind she was, he changed his mind and she took him to Gospel for Asia’s home for abandoned and runaway boys.

It took a while for Nandi to get used to being there. During his first days there, he was overwhelmed by the new faces and structured lifestyle. He broke down in tears and was comforted by the staff members. They assured him, “Don’t worry, because we are here like your mother and father.” What a change from the life he had known before then. While he had been with his adoptive parents, he had craved parental love and here he was receiving it from strangers. The women brought him food and medicine when he wasn’t able to move around much because he was still recovering from his operation. They stayed with him at night when he couldn’t sleep. Much like a mother stays with her child until he or she falls asleep. The love of these people touched this little boy’s heart. Maybe a mother or father would do the same things these sisters are doing, he thought. Through the loving care of these women, God revealed Himself to a child who had been starved of love all his life.

That accident was God’s way of getting Nandi off the streets and putting him in a place where he would be cared for and receive a good education and learn about Jesus. Now, Nandi wants to serve Jesus by singing.

As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you – Isaiah 66:13

Manjulika’s life was much different from Nandi’s. She knew her parents. She and her sisters lived with them. One day, Manjulika’s world was turned upside down. She woke up to learn that her mother was dead. She had died in the hospital. From that moment on, Manjulika became a mother to her younger sisters. Their father worked long hours as a rickshaw driver. He would go home drunk and sometimes he beat them. As Manjulika struggled to raise her siblings, she thought of her mother and how she had done so much for them. She missed her. She missed her mother’s love and care, especially as she and her sisters didn’t receive any love from their father. In fact, he had no problem letting the government take them to a Gospel for Asia home for at-risk girls. The girls would soon come to know another Father. One who loves them.

The moment Manjulika walked into Gospel for Asia’s home for abandoned girls, she knew that she was in the right place. This was a place where she would receive love and care. She was no longer burdened with the responsibility of raising her siblings. She had help. The staff was there to provide for their needs. They got food, school supplies and clothes. And most importantly, they received the kind of love they had once received from their mother. The staff was like a mother to the girls. They sat with Manjulika whenever she got sick and helped her to eat. They celebrated her birthday. Manjulika had never had a birthday party before. The staff enrolled her in a good school and helped her with her homework. Things were looking up.

Manjulika thinks about her mother again but this time it is without sadness. “These sisters care for us, and they meet all our needs. If my mother were alive, she too would have done the same things the sisters are doing to me.” She is again experiencing the kind of love she once had when her mother was alive and missed when she died.

He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing – Deuteronomy 10:18

Today, Manujika wants to be a teacher and share her knowledge with children. She also wants to tell others about Jesus. She wants them to know that he loves them regardless of their background.

Nandi and Manujika had happy endings to their stories but there are children out there who are still living on the streets and in danger of exploitation, drugs, violence and premature death. Please lift them up in prayer. Pray that God will intervene in their lives as He did with Nandi and Manujika and take them off the streets. Children are precious in His sight. They deserve to have quality life. They deserve to have a bright future. They deserve to have love, protection, care, education and knowledge of Jesus.

I just read in the Stabroek News that the 68th Cannes Film Festival unveiled its official poster featuring legendary actress Ingrid Bergman in a tribute to what would have been her 100th birthday this year. I think that’s wonderful. She was an actress I truly admired and appreciated. She had gentle beauty and an air of quiet refinement. She was very classy. I remember her in films like Casablanca, Gaslight, Anastasia and For Whom the Bells Toll. She acted with some of Hollywood’s A list male stars–Humphrey Bogart, Gregory Peck, Cary Grant and Gary Cooper. It would have been interesting to see her star opposite Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart and Burt Lancaster.

Acting was something Ingrid always knew she wanted to become. Her father, a Swedish artist and photographer wanted her to become an opera star and had her take voice lessons for three years. She wore her mother’s clothes and staged plays in her father’s empty studio. He documented all of her birthdays with a borrowed camera. He died when she was thirteen. Her German mother had died when she was two years old.

After her father’s death, Ingrid was sent to live with an aunt who died just six months later from a heart disease. She moved in with another aunt and uncle who had five children. Her aunt Elsa was the first one who told Ingrid when she was 11 years old that her mother may have “some Jewish blood”, and that her father was aware of this long before they got married. Her aunt cautioned her about telling others about her possible ancestry as “there might be some difficult times coming.” This reminds me of Queen Esther who was intially cautioned by her uncle not to let anyone know that she was a Jew.

In 1932 when she was 17, Ingrid had only one opportunity to become an actress by entering an acting competition with the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm. For Ingrid it was a terrible moment. She recalled: As I walked off the stage, I was in mourning. I was at a funeral. My own. It was the death of my creative self. My heart had truly broken…they didn’t think I was even worth listening to, or watching.”

This couldn’t have be further from the truth as she soon learned after meeting one of the judges who told her, “We loved your security and your impertinance. We loved you and told each other that there was no reason to waste time as there were dozens of other entrants still to come. We didn’t need to waste any time with you. We knew you were a natural and great. Your future as an actress was settled.” What a thrill and relief that must have been for the aspiring actress. She received a scholarship to the state-sponsored Royal Dramatic Theatre School where Greta Garbo had earned a similar scholarship just years earlier.

Ingrid’s dream was now a reality. She was given a part in a new play and over the summer break, she was hired by a Swedish film studio which led to her departure from the Royal Dramatic Theatre a year later to work full-time in films. She starred in a dozen films in Sweden, including En kvinnas ansikte which was later remade as A Woman’s Face, starring Joan Crawford. Ingrid made one film in Germany in 1938.

Then it was off to Hollywood…Thanks to David O. Selznick, she starred in Intermezzo: A Love Story, her first acting role in the United States. It was a remake of her 1935 Swedish film, Intermezzo. Ingrid didn’t plan to stay in Hollywood. She thought she would complete this film and return home to Sweden to be with her husband, Dr. Peter Lindstrom and their daughter, Pia.

Selznick had concerns about Ingrid. “She didn’t speak English, she was too tall, her name sounded too German, and her eyebrows were too thick.” However, Ingrid was accepted without having to modify her looks. Selznick let her have her way because he understood her fear of Hollywood makeup artists who might turn her into someone she wouldn’t recognize. He told them to back off. Besides, he believe that her natural good looks would compete successfully with Hollywood’s “synthetic razzle-dazzle.”

Selznick, who was filming Gone With the Wind at the same time, shared his early impressions of Ingrid in a letter to William Hebert, his publicity director :

Miss Bergman is the most completely conscientious actress with whom I have ever worked, in that she thinks of absolutely nothing but her work before and during the time she is doing a picture … She practically never leaves the studio, and even suggested that her dressing room be equipped so that she could live here during the picture. She never for a minute suggests quitting at six o’clock or anything of the kind … Because of having four stars acting in Gone with the Wind, our star dressing-room suites were all occupied and we had to assign her a smaller suite. She went into ecstasies over it and said she had never had such a suite in her life … All of this is completely unaffected and completely unique and I should think would make a grand angle of approach to her publicity … so that her natural sweetness and consideration and conscientiousness become something of a legend … and is completely in keeping with the fresh and pure personality and appearance which caused me to sign her.

Not surprisingly, Intermezzo was a huge success and resulted in Ingrid becoming a star. She left quite an impression on Hollywood. And Selznick’s appreciation of her uniqueness made he and his wife Irene remain important friends to Ingrid throughout her career.

Before making Casablanca, Ingrid made one last film in Sweden and appearing in three moderately successful films, Adam Had Four Sons, Rage in Heaven and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. According to her biographer, she felt guilty that she had misjudged the situation in Germany. She had dismissed the Nazis as a “temporary aberration, ‘too foolish to be taken seriously.’ She didn’t believe that Germany start a war because the good people of the country would not allow it. Sadly, she was wrong. She felt guilty for the rest of her life and when she was in Germany at the end of the war, she had been afraid to go with the others to witness the atrocitites of the Nazi extermination camps.

In 1942, she starred opposite Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, a movie famous for its wonderul lines and the famous song, “As Time Goes By”. I was surprised to read that Ingrid did not consider it to be one of her favorite performances. She said, “I made so many films which were more important, but the only one people ever want to talk about is that one with Bogart.” I thought she and Bogart were great together.

I think I only saw For Whom the Bell Tolls once but really liked it. My sister and I liked how she looked with her short, blond, curly hair and a “sun-kissed complexion”. I read that Ernest Hemmingway wanted her to play the part of Maria. When he met her, after studying her, he exclaimed, “You are Maria!” When Ernest told Ingrid that she would have to cut her hair to play the part, she was quick to respond, “To get that part, I’d cut my head off!”

For Whom the Bell Tolls, was the film that saved the song, “As Time Goes By” from being removed from Casablanca. Warner Brothers wanted to substitute the song and planned to re-shoot some scenes with Ingrid but thanks to her hair-cut, they had to drop the idea as there would be a problem with continuity even if she wore a wig.

A year later, Ingrid won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Gaslight. It was a gripping and suspenseful movie of a wife being driven to madness by her husband, masterfully played by Charles Boyer. She next starred as a nun in The Bells of St. Mary opposite Bing Cosby, garnering her third consecutive nomination for Best Actress. She came in a succession of Alfred Hitchock movies, Spellbound, Notorious and Under Capricorn (I never heard of this one).

During her marriage to Lindstrom, Ingrid had a brief affair with Gregory Peck. This affair was kept private until five years after Ingrid’s death, when Gregory revealed in an interview with Brad Darrach of People, “All I can say is that I had a real love for her (Bergman), and I think that’s where I ought to stop…. I was young. She was young. We were involved for weeks in close and intense work.”

Unlike her affair with Gregory Peck, the one with the Italian film director, Roberto Rossellini was a very public one. Although Ingrid received another Best Actress nomination for Joan of Arc in 1948, the film was not a hit, partly because news of her affair with Rossellini broke while the movie was still in theatres. It was her admiration for Rossellini which had led Ingrid to write him a letter, expressing her admiration and suggesting that she make a film with him. She was cast in his film, Stromboli and during production, she fell in love with him and they began an affair. She became pregnant with their son, Bergman became pregnant with their son, Renato Roberto Ranaldo Giusto Giuseppe (“Robin”) Rossellini and this affair caused a huge scandal in the United States. She was denounced on the floor of the United States senate and Ed Sullivan chose not to have her appear on his show despite a poll showing that the public wanted her there. However, Steve Allen had her on his equally popular show, noting, “the danger of trying to judge artistic activity through the prism of one’s personal life.”

The scandal drove Ingrid back to Italy, leaving her husband and daughter. She went through a very public divorce and custody battle for their daughter. She and Lindstrom divorced a week after her son was born and she married Rossellini in Mexico. In 1952, Ingrid gave birth to twin daughters Isotta Ingrid Rossellini and Isabella Rossellini. Five years later she divorced their father and the following year she married Lars Schmidt, a theatrical entrepreneur from a wealthy Swedish shipping family. That marriage lasted until 1975 when they divorced.

In 1956, Ingrid starred in the movie, Anatasia. It was her return to the American screen and her second Academy Award for Best Actress which her best friend Cary Grant accepted for her. She made her first appearance in Hollywood since the scandal when she was the presenter of the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 1956 Academy Awards. She received a standing ovation after being introduced by Cary Grant. In 1969, she starred opposite Walter Matthau and Goldie Hawn in the hilarious and delightful movie, Cactus Flower. It was nice seeing Ingrid take a turn in a light romantic comedy.

In 1972, US Senator Charles H. Percy entered an apology in to the Congressional Record for Edwin C. Johnson’s attack on Ingrid 22 years ago. In 1974 she won her third Oscar for Murder on the Orient Express, earning her the distinction of being one of the few actresses ever to receive three Oscars. Her final role was as Golda Meir in A Woman Called Golda. She was offered the part because, “People believe you and trust you, and this is what I want, because Golda Meir had the trust of the people.” This interested Ingrid and the role was greatly significant for her because she still carried the guilt of misjudging the situation in Germany during World War II. Ingrid was frequently ill during the film although she hardly showed it or complained. She was a real trooper. Four months after the film was completed, on her 67th birthday in London, Ingrid died of breast cancer. Her daughter, Pia accepted her Emmy.

Ingrid was a woman of grace, natural beauty who brought realism and dignity to her roles. She was a star with no temperament, making her a delight to work with, unpretentious, unique, hard-working, “a great star” who “always strove to be a ‘true’ woman.” She was not a saint but a woman with real emotions. She was not afraid to speak out against racism. During a press conference in Washington, D.C. where she was promoting, Joan of Lorraine, she protested against the racial segregation she witnessed firsthand at the theatre where she was performing. This drew a lot of publicity and some hate mail. In a news column in the Herald-Journal, she is reported as saying, “I deplore racial discrimination in any form. To think it would be permitted in the nation’s capital of all places! I really had not known that there were places in the United States–entertainment places which are for all the people–where everybody could not go.”

Notes to Women salute this remarkable woman and actress who won our hearts and deepest admiration with her grace and courage. We celebrate one of the greatest leading ladies that ever graced the silver screen. She once said, “I am an actress and I am interested in acting, not in making money.” Dear Ingrid, we are so very thankful that you chose acting over opera.

I have no regrets. I wouldn’t have lived my life the way I did if I was going to worry about what people were going to say.

I can do everything with ease on the stage, whereas in real life I feel too big and clumsy. So I didn’t choose acting. It chose me.

I don’t think anyone has the right to intrude in your life, but they do. I would like people to separate the actress and the woman.

Time is shortening. But every day that I challenge this cancer and survive is a victory for me.

As usual, after promising myself that I wouldn’t watch it, I ended up watching the Oscars Red Carpet show and the last hour and a half of the Oscars. I enjoyed the show more in the past. Nowadays, it seems anything goes. I didn’t appreciate Sean Penn’s remark when Birdman won for the Best Picture and I am thankful that I missed Neil Patrick Harris in his underwear. I wonder if he will be invited back next year. I think Billy Crystal was by far the best host.

The highlights were seeing Tara Kyle, the widow of Chris Kyle, author of the autobiography The American Sniper, Oscar nominee for best picture. Chris was killed at a shooting range in Texas in February 2013. Tara was at the 87th Academy Awards ceremony to represent him. She is a an American author, veteran family activist and advocate for women and families who have lost family members while serving in the war. She travels around the country speaking about Chris and others like him. In August 2013, the state of Texas passed the Chris Kyle Law (SB162) which was created to “expand the effort to help ease employment challenges for active duty military members and their spouses”

Tara founded Chris Kyle Frog Foundation. A frog’s skeleton is a symbol of a fallen Navy Seal. The foundation’s mission is is to “serve those who serve us by providing meaningful interactive experiences that enrich family relationships”.

The other highlight was Julianne Moore. I haven’t seen the movie, Still Alice, but the clip they showed of the movie when the announcement for Actress in a leading role, convinced me that she deserved the honor. The scene was short but very powerful. It was of a woman desperately looking for her keys and refusing to take her husband’s advice to wait until the morning. It’s as if she could feel herself slipping away and was struggling to hold on. It’s a movie on a disease that affects everyone–those diagnosed with it and their loved ones. Alice described it as her brain dying.

“In the ladies’ room, Alice studied her image in the mirror. The reflected older woman’s face didn’t quite match the picture that she had of herself in her mind’s eye.” p 35”
― Lisa Genova, Still Alice

Women are more likely to get Alzheimer’s partly because they live longer than men. Genetics are also a factor. In the movie, Still Alice, Alice looked young, not the typical person you would expect to have Alzheimer’s. It is no longer a disease of old age. In fact, many people with early onset are in their 40s and 50s. They have families, careers or are even caregivers themselves when the disease strikes.

In her acceptance speech, Julianne said, “I’m so happy, I’m thrilled that we were able to shine a light on Alzheimer’s disease,” Moore said. “So many people who have this disease feel marginalized. People who have Alzheimer’s disease deserve to be seen so we can find a cure.” She poured her heart into this role. She spent four months researching for her role, talking to women with the disease, doctors and visiting a long-term care facility. This was well earned Oscar win. Congratulations, Julianne for bringing to life and light a disease that affects so many. Thank you for raising awareness and helping those who live with the disease not to feel like they are alone.

Initially, when I heard that Lady Gaga was going to sing a medley from The Sound of Music, I was very skeptical. I didn’t think she had it in her but I was pleasantly surprised. I found myself wondering why the medley and then, Dame Julie Andrews steps out on the stage to the delight and surprise of the audience. You could see that Lady Gaga was a bit emotional. With her usual gracefulness, Dame Julie said, “Dear Lady Gaga, thank you for that wonderful tribute.”

Seeing Dame Julie Andrews step out on the stage was the biggest highlight of the night for me. She looked terrific as usual. She was there to hand out the Oscar for the Best Original Score and also in honor of the movie, The Sound of Music which celebrates its 50th anniversary. It will always be one of my favorite musicals.

I was thrilled when the song, “Glory” won for Best Original Song. It was a moving tribute to the civil rights’ movement. The cast and some in the audience were in tears. Congratulations to Common and John Legend for their much deserved win.

In his acceptance speech, John Legend said, “We wrote this song for a film that was based on events that were 50 years ago, but we say that Selma is now because the struggle for justice is right now. We live in the most incarcerated country in the world. There are more black men under correctional control today than were under slavery in 1850. When people are marching with our song, we want to tell you, ‘We are with you. We see you. We love you. And march on.'”

Congratulations to Patricia Arquette and Eddie Redmayne. It was touching the way he dedicated his Best Actor Oscar to “all of those people around the world” battling motor neurone disease – the illness that left Professor Hawking in a wheelchair. Redmayne thanked the Hawking family and his wife, Hannah, telling her, “I love you so much. We’ve got a new fella coming to share our apartment!” His acceptance speech was refreshing and sweet at the same time.

Notes to Women wish to congratulate all the Academy Award winners for 2015.

“If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering” – Judges 11:30, 31

I read this story again today and it filled me with sadness. Jephthah was a mighty man of valor but was driven out of his home by his step-brothers because his mother was a harlot. He went to the land of Tob where he fell into the company of worthless men he went raiding with.

When the nation of Amnon made war against Israel, the elders of the Israelite people went to Jephthah for help. He reminded them of how they had treated him and wanted to know why they were now seeking his help. They promised him that if he would fight for them, they would make him their head over all the inhabitants of Gilead. Jephthah agreed. He went with them and they made him their head and commander. Before he went to war, Jephthah gave the king of Ammon the opportunity to call a truce but he refused to listen.

God’s Spirit was upon Jephthah as he advanced toward the people of Ammon. It was at this time that he made a vow to the Lord. The Lord delivered the people of Ammon into his hands. When he returned home after his great victory, his daughter came to meet him, happy to see him and and he was devastated. He had made a vow to the Lord that whatever came out of his house to meet him when he returned from fighting the Ammonites, will be the Lord’s. It never occurred to him that his daughter, his only child, would be the one to come out to meet him.

When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low! You are among those who trouble me! For I have given my word to the Lord, and I cannot go back on it.”

So she said to him, “My father, if you have given your word to the Lord, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, because the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the people of Ammon.” Then she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: let me alone for two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains and bewail my virginity, my friends and I.” She had accepted her fate.

For two months she and her friends bewailed her virginity on the mountains. And at the end of the two months, she returned to her father and he honored his vow to the Lord. She never knew a man. She remained a virgin until she died. Jephthah never had any grandchildren.

How sad it must have been for this young girl who like most girls dreamed of one day falling in love and getting married. She would never know the joy of being a wife and a mother. If a man showed any interest in her she would have to reject him. How it must have been hard to see her friends get married and have children. She may have held some of those children in her arms, knowing that she would never be able to have any of her own. It is said that it became a custom in Israel for the daughters of Israel to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days each year.

I can’t imagine how her father must have felt, seeing his only child live the rest of her life a spinster because of a foolish vow he had made. The vow as not even necessary. The Spirit of the Lord was with him. God would have given him the victory anyway. What should have been a celebration for father and daughter turned into a tragedy. His victory came at a great cost because of a vow he had made in order to guarantee that victory.

Be careful when you made a vow to the Lord or anyone. Consider what you are doing first. Make sure you can live with your decision. Don’t make promises that you may regret keeping.

If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth – Numbers 30:2.

World Water Day is Saturday, March 22, 2014. It is held annually on March 22nd to raise awareness of the importance of freshwater and the sustainable management of freshwater resources. Water is essential. People, animals, plants need it.

I live in a country where I have access to clean water. I can drink filtered water, bottled water or boiled water. When my five year old son is thirsty, I can give him filtered water from our fridge. I grew up in Guyana, South America and there were times when we had to draw water from the tap in the yard in order to bath but it had fluoride or chlorine to kill impurities. “The amount of chlorine is carefully measured to be the lowest possible amount needed to keep the water free of germs. In some places fluoride is also added. It has been found to help prevent tooth decay. Some natural water sources already contain fluoride so this step is not always included” (Water Purification, Guyana Water Incorporated).

Imagine living in a community where there is no clean water for you to drink, cook, wash or bath with. Your only two options are to die of thirst or to get sick or die from dirty water. These are the grim choices that men, women and children are forced to make in Asia. They don’t have the privilege we do of having clean tap water. As a result illnesses caused by dirty water kill more people each year than war and violence. One of nine people worldwide don’t have access to clean water and many of them live in South Asia.

Gospel for Asia has combated this problem of clean water by digging Jesus Wells and providing BioSand Water filters to people across South Asia who have no access to clean, fresh water. This simple act of providing wells for people who are starving for clean water that there is a Savior who loves them and wants them to be healthy and safe. Many are putting their trust and faith in Him.

It was this faith in Christ that brought upon Chandrabhan and his family intense persecution from their community. They were blocked from drawing water at the public well. This all began when Chandrabhan’s daughter decided that like her parents, she wanted to follow Christ much to her husband’s chagrin. Furious Nadir recruited religious fanatics to storm into his in-laws’ house to remove his infant son from his mother’s care. He had decided that he didn’t want his wife to return home with him after all. He just wanted their son.

The group of men who accompanied Nadir beat the family and demanded that they renounce Jesus Christ. Chandrabhan sustained a serious blow to the head as his son-in-law forcibly removed his son from the house. Nadir’s wife Laghuvi watched as the ambulance took her family away while the welfare of her son weighed heavily on her mind.

Chandrabhan came home with 12 stitches but his troubles were just beginning. When word spread in the village of what had happened, the victims became the villains. The villagers accused him and his wife of placing their religion above the well being of their daughter, Laghuvi who had filed for a divorce. Some wondered, “What is there in Jesus more than an son-in-law? Don’t they care about their daughter’s life?”

In spite of the persecution and their neighbors’ opinion that their actions were foolish and even cruel, Chandrabhan and his family continued to trust God. This led to friends cutting their ties, declaring, “If they don’t want to compromise with their daughter’s life, we will not have fellowship with them.” Through it all, the Friend who sticks closer than a brother was there for the family.

Not satisfied with isolating them, the community took their vendetta a step further by blocking them from the pubic well. If any family member approached, they were met with scolds. The closet place they could go to for water was at a school over half a mile away and they couldn’t draw enough for themselves and their livestock. This was their punishment for receiving the Living Water.

“And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him” (Psalm 37:40). In the midst of this turmoil, the Holy Spirit impressed upon Chandrabhan’s heart to ask his pastor about getting a well that would be open to everyone. After the pastor talked this over with his leaders, a year later, a well was drilled behind Chandrabhan’s house.

The Jesus Well turned things around for this family who had suffered for their faith. They were no longer condemned by their community but appreciated and respected. The family welcome their neighbors to the well and more than 30 families use it regularly. And at the Jesus Well, over buckets of water, some people have come to know about Christ and His unfailing love just by talking to the man they once saw as a villain.

In the wake of persecution, isolation, condemnation, Chandrabhan and his family reflected the love of Christ which dwelt in their hearts by wanting to share their well with others. They shared their faith with those who had not yet received the Living Water. The Jesus Well not only restored the family’s reputation but it changed lives forever.

Sadly, Laghuvi still hasn’t seen her son or her ex-husband but the Lord has come through for her by blessing her with a new husband who shares her faith. With Jesus at the center of her life, she will experience indescribable joy.

Do you want to see God transform lives in hostile villages as He did in Chandrabhan’s village? You can by providing a Jesus Well to an entire community for $1,000. You can donate to Jesus Wells. People are thirsty. In the village of Chaitaly, a woman whose illness of 12 years baffled doctors, the local well was running low and the people were dying from dehydration and waterborne illnesses. They were desperately searching for a fresh source of water and rationing the little they could find. Read how the Lord brought healing to Chaitaly and miraculously provided clean water for these villagers. You can demonstrate the love of Christ through the Jesus Well so that not only will people draw water from the well but they will draw near to the One who provides it.

A Jesus Well provides pure water for an entire village full of thirsty people for only $1000. With clean water, the health of the people improves significantly. Through the provision of clean water, villagers are open to hearing about the God who loves them and provides for their needs.

Join Gospel for Asia in this wise investment of drilling a well for only $1000. Help the people of Asia who are living without clean water and dying from water related diseases. Help save children under five in the world from deaths caused by diarrhea. Save the women around the globe who spend millions of hours a day collecting water. You can make a difference. With your help, Gospel for Asia can continue to deliver clean, disease free water to families across South Asia. Help open people’s eyes to a God who has not forsaken them but is revealing His love, power and provision through Jesus Wells.